Thursday, June 7, 2012

BY 2020, all teachers must possess a first degree before they can join the teaching profession.

This was contained in a report of the Education Ministry’s Interim Strategic Education Plan 2011-2020 to improve the overall quality of teachers. At present, they are only required to complete the post-Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) teachers’ training course as a minimum requirement to join the profession. The report also stated that the ministry would conduct pre-screenings to identify quality and excellent teachers from as early as the selection process itself.

The ministry planned to pick only top-scoring university graduates to fill about 20 per cent of trainee teachers by 2015.

The passing criteria for teachers at training institutes would also be reviewed to ensure the quality of trainees continued to be high.

By next year, scholarships would be offered to excellent trainee teachers studying at teachers’ training institutes as well as public and private universities. A database would be set up by next year to facilitate promotions for serving teachers. According to the plan, by 2017, only graduates with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 would be selected to undergo teachers’ training. All new teachers and lecturers will be required to undergo an induction programme once a year as part of the ministry’s holistic and continuous professionalism development programmes for educators.

The plan also highlighted that only competent and high-performance teachers would be teaching specialised subjects in schools. It also said by 2020, at least 20 per cent of teachers’ training programmes would form collaborations
with local and international private institutes. By that year, specialist coaches would be hired to assist teachers in teaching their students. These coaches, the report said, would also be involved in the learning process.
In the plan, teachers’ professionalism development would not only be through training but also participation in community work.

The higher education sector is also poised for transformation by 2020 with all lecturers having a Master’s degree and 50 per cent of them doctorates. The plan also said that at least 20 per cent of lecturers at higher learning institutions would be required to come up with research papers to be presented internationally every year. The plan also called for a semester system to be introduced in schools to gauge students’ formative potential and academic achievement.
The system will also allow teachers to plan suitable intervention programmes to overcome students’ weaknesses.

“The flexibility in making assessments will result in an authentic and holistic learning development for students.” The system would be part of schools’ restructuring to produce well-balanced students and global players. The plan also highlighted a proposal to lower the formal schooling age to 5 years to ensure every child would be given the chance to succeed. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said in 2010 that the lowering of the entry age to school had been discussed for some time.

Read more: Degree a must for new teachers by 2020 - Top News - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/degree-a-must-for-new-teachers-by-2020-1.91540#ixzz1x65d56Ui